The Dolphin Will Love the Shark or the Whale?
by Misty Rain the Female Warrior
Summary: Haru Nanase was a girl with an undying love for water and a talent for swimming. Her friends, Makoto Tachibana and Nagisa Hazuki, support her all the way. However, back from Australia, Rin Matsuoka came back for her. She suddenly realizes she has feelings for the both Rin and Makoto. Who will the dolphin love? The shark or the whale? *DISCONTINUED. SORRY!*
1. Childhood

**Hello! Welcome to my fanfic. Here, Haru-chan is a girl and her name is Haru instead of Haruka. The rest of the boys are boys of course. This is a Fem!Haruka x Makoto x Rin fanfic (It's also a Fem!Haruka x Water story. XD). I hope you enjoy it! :) Here we go!**

*******Warning: This may become rated M for later chapters. Some stuff will made up by me. I just finished Episode 1 of Free!, so don't judge me about stuff.***

* * *

**Childhood**

"Hey! Haru-chan!" shouted a young Nagisa. "Come on! Daddy's cooking hotdogs!" Nanase Haru was very reluctant to leave Nagisa's rich dad's pool, so she answered, "No."

"Awww, Haru-chan! Aren't you hungry?"

Haru shook her head. "I'm not leaving here. Now if you'll excuse me..." She then submerged herself in the water. She looked at the fancy patterns that matched the setting in the water. She liked being in the water this way. It was "love" she says. She was in love with the water.

"Haruuuu-chaaaaaan!" yelled Nagisa. She ignored him and kept being in the water.

"Haru-chan! Don't be in there for so long!" shouted a voice that belonged to a young Makoto.

She still ignored it, but then, she felt a shortness in breath. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode. She quickly swam up to the surface and breathed in lots of air. She flipped her hair back and forth and saw Nagisa and Makoto with worried faces.

"Are you okay?" Makoto asked.

"I'm fine," Haru answered. "I just need air."

"You could've drowned!" Nagisa said. His eyes looked sad along with Makoto's.

"Me and the water were having a moment together," Haru insisted. "I just needed air, that's all. Gosh, why do you have to make such a big deal out of this?"

"You're our friend, so of course we'll make a big deal out of this," Makoto answered. Haru sighed. Typical friends of hers...

"I'll get hotdogs in a minute, okay?" she said. The two nodded as they left to the patio. Haru took in a lot of air and submerged back into the water. She swam all the way to the bottom and touched the floor with her finger. It was like if she swam to the bottom of the ocean and touched the surface. That would be a feat. Suddenly, she ran out of breath again. She felt her lungs screaming for air. She swam up as quickly as possible. All of a sudden, her hands and feet were tired from paddling. The surface looked far away from her. She was terrified. _Water...what are you..._ she thought weakly as she sunk deeper and deeper in the pool and blacked out.

She felt something on her mouth. She then didn't anymore and felt a pair of hands push her chest. She coughed out water and opened her eyes to see Makoto, Nagisa, and Mr. Hazuki above her. She stood up and asked, "What happened?"

"You were drowning, Haru-chan!" explained Makoto. "I told you NOT to be in the water for a long time!"

"I was scared you were going to die..." the yellow-haired boy muttered, almost close to a sob. "Haru-chan..."

"Young lady, you have to be more careful next time!" instructed Mr. Hazuki. "I didn't want to call your parents and tell them that you almost drowned." Haru frowned. The water didn't want her to leave perhaps, and it almost took her away from her friends.

"I'm sorry," the dark-haired girl said. "I'll be more careful next time."

"Oh, I hope so!" Nagisa looked about ready to cry. Makoto looked like he was about to cry too. Haru felt bad. She didn't mean her friends to worry much about her.

"I will. I promise. Don't you worry." Haru tried to smile, but failed.

Nagisa stuck out his pinky finger. "Promise?" Makoto stuck out his pinky finger too. "Yeah, promise, Haru-chan?" he added. She stuck out both her pinkies and locked them with their's.

"It's a promise, you guys. Don't worry." Their faces brightened up along with Mr. Hazuki's.

"So you want a hotdog?" he asked. Haru reluctantly nodded. He left.

"Do you want to play a game, Haru-chan?" asked Makoto. Haru nodded again.

"Oh! A game!" chimed Nagisa. "What is it?"

"I'll show you in a sec! Come on!" He and Nagisa ran off. Haru looked back at the pool. She frowned.

_I'll be gone for a while, _she thought. _I'll be back. But don't get me away from my friends. _She looked back her friends and ran to them.

* * *

The next day at their elementary school, there was swimming practice after school. Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa were in a team together. Haru put on a swimming cap and a pair of swimming goggles on. She was in her teal-blue one-piece bathing suit. She bent down and dived into the water. She swam freestyle smoothly with no problem.

"Her swimming style always look smooth," said Makoto, smiling at his friend's performance.

"Yeah!" Nagisa agreed. "Like a dolphin!" They both smiled. Both thought she was like a dolphin when it comes to swimming. A cute little dolphin. Suddenly, the two noticed another kid. His hair and eyes were a magenta color. He was wearing a boys' bathing suit, a swimming cap, and a pair of swimming goggles.

"Who's that?" asked Makoto.

"Matsuoka Rin-kun," Nagisa answered. "He transferred into our class last week." As Rin stretched the elastic band of his goggles and let it hit the back of his head, he bent down and jumped into the pool as well. He caught up to Haru. They both swam, turned, and swam back to the beginning where they started. Haru got there first. She took off her cap and goggles and flipped her wet hair back and forth. She saw Makoto's hand reach for her.

"Nobody can beat you when you're in the water, Haru-chan," her friend said. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her out of the water.

"That was so cool, Nanase-chan!" cheered the lovely yellow-haired boy. "I wanna swim like you!" A boy wants to swim like her? That almost made her laugh.

Rin got up from the pool with his goggles and swimming cap off. "You're as fast as the rumors said," he says. "What was your time?"

"I don't care about my time," Haru replied.

Rin laughed. "That's just like the rumors said too!" He grinned. "So, Nanase, you interested in entering a relay with me?" Haru frowned and answered, "I only swim freestyle." She went back into the water and floated like a balloon. She didn't care about fast swimming times. She cares about the water and being with it. That's why she swims.

"But you're amazing! You have to join!"

"No."

"Ah, don't mind Haru-chan, Rin," Makoto said. "Most of the time, she says no to anything."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she has her reasons for them though." Rin looked at the dark-haired girl. Maybe he should keep on asking her until she says yes. Besides, who wouldn't want a cutie to join a relay? He ran the pool and landed with a splash. Haru shielded herself from the splash.

"Haru, just think. With both of us teamed up, we could win anything! Even in the future!"

"I don't care." That's when he splashed her with some water. Makoto was getting a little annoyed about Rin's behavior.

"You should stop-" he was going to say, but got cut off by Rin.

"Come on, Haru! Please?" the magenta-haired swimmer pleaded. Haru pouted at him.

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with cherries on top?"

"How many times are you going to ask me?"

"Countless until you say yes." Haru was getting annoyed of Rin. She turned and swam to the stairs to get out of the pool, but then Rin hugged her from behind and they both went into the water.

"Haru-chan!" both Makoto and Nagisa shouted. However, Haru and Rin were fine. They were just underwater.

"Pretty please with cherries and sprinkles on top?" Rin pleaded underwater. To Haru, it sounded like, "Pruuty pluse with charries and prinkles on yop?" Haru was getting tired of Rin doing this to her, so she said, "Fine. Just stop." Rin smiled as they both came up from the water.

"Haru-chan! Are you okay?" asked Makoto.

"I'm fine," she answered.

"Thanks, Nanase!" Rin said. "I knew you would say yes!"

_I only said yes because you were annoying, _thought the dark-haired swimmer. _Idiot. _But she felt a little proud to accept his invitation. She could have some fun with him. But it's only for the relay and nothing else.

* * *

**Ending here. What do you think of this chapter? I know all of you are fujoshis or whatever you yaoi fangirls call yourselves, so you want yaoi. But, I don't like yaoi (or hate it. I'm kind of neutral when it comes to yaoi.). I just wanted to do this because I want to.**

**You can read, review, follow, and/or favorite. ;) Let me know if there's a typo or something. I'll see you all later! **


	2. The Return of Rin Matsuoka

**Huh. I got a review! That shocks me since there's fujoshis here! But, I got you followers and favoriters! Yay! :D Here's Chapter 2! Enjoy!**

**krito1389: Thanks for your review!**

* * *

**The Return of Rin Matsuoka**

Now 17, Haru Nanase soaked in her bathtub full of water. It's what she always does. She was thinking back when she was a child. Her almost drowning in that pool and her accepting Rin's invite. She thought she was pretty childish as a kid, but she was a child back in the day. Rin moved to Australia. She missed him, and she doesn't know why. She sunk deeper into the water until her mouth was in the water.

_Rin... _she thought. She had good memories of him. She even remembered him saying he wanted to be an Olympic swimmer...or something like that. She has a feeling they were going to meet again, but Haru denied it. He's just gone. Since when did she care about him?

"Good morning, Haru-chan!" greeted a friendly voice she knew. She looked to her right and saw her friend, Makoto. He reached out his hand to her. She grabbed it and he pulled her up from the water.

"You know it's rude to come in here without knocking," Haru stated.

"It's not like you're ACTUALLY naked in the tub, Haru-chan," said Makoto. Haru sighed and left the room. She went into the kitchen and got an apron on. She got a mackerel from the fridge and began grilling it.

"Mackerel?!" Makoto exclaimed. "Why are you eating that?"

"Breakfast," Haru answered.

"Fish for breakfast?"

"I missed breakfast, so this is all I can eat."

"And you're cooking it with an apron over your swim suit?" She didn't answer. Makoto sighed. _Typical Haru-chan. _

...

When Haru was in her school uniform, she and Makoto were walking to school. Makoto was babbling about how they got the same class and the new teacher in the class. Haru looked at the ocean. _I hope it gets warmer so I can swim in the ocean, _she thought.

"By the way, I hope it gets warmer so you can swim in the ocean," Makoto said. Haru fixed her eyes on the ocean, still not answering him. Makoto's gotten used to her silent treatments for a while, so he didn't mind her not answering him.

* * *

As they were in their classroom, the teacher was taking attendance. When she reached Haru's name, she called out, "Mr. Nanase Haru?" Haru sighed. She's gotten used to being mistaken for a boy.

"Uh, Haru-chan's a girl, m'am!" Makoto stated. The class laughed. Haru sighed again, looking out the window.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Nanase-chan!" apologized the teacher. "You were absent yesterday, yes?" Haru nodded. She announced to the class, "I'm Amakata Miho, your new homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you all!" She smiled.

...

It was lunchtime. People around Haru were talking about Ms. Amakata. They say she went to college and had a job there, but quits after her dream fell through. Haru wasn't surprised that being a teacher was her plan B.

"Can we eat lunch on the roof?" asked Makoto. Haru nodded and thought, _Makoto needs a clue. _They both got up and left the classroom.

"I didn't bring lunch, just so you know," Haru said.

"Right, I'll share you my lunch." Makoto smiled. Haru's cheeks felt a little warm.

"What do you have for lunch?" she asked.

"Squid," he answered. Haru did liked seafood, so she didn't mind. Suddenly, they both heard a high-pitched voice saying, "Haru-chan! Mako-chan!" They looked around and saw an old friend they knew: Nagisa.

"It's been forever!" he said. "I'll be joining you two here in Iwatobi High School."

"Nagisa?!" Makoto and Haru said in union.

...

The three were on the rooftop eating lunch together. "How many years has it been?" Makoto asked Nagisa. "I don't think we've ever saw you after the swim club has been shut down."

"Yep, because I went to a different school," Nagisa said. "Ah! There's cherry blossom trees near the pool!" He pointed at a pool near cherry blossom trees. "Weren't there any cherry blossom trees next to the pool at grade school, Haru-chan?" As usual, she gave him the silent treatment.

"Don't mind Haru-chan. She usually gives the silent treatment a lot," Makoto stated.

"Ah."

Makoto looked at the pool. "Too bad the pool is old and not in use. There's no swim club either."

"Well, then where do you swim then?" Nagisa asked.

Haru finally spoke, "I quit swimming competitively."

Nagisa almost jumped. "What?! Why'd you quit?! I was all excited about getting to swim with you again in high school!"

"We're not little kids anymore. Things aren't the way they used to be."

Nagisa frowned. "Haru-chan..."

Makoto chuckled. "Well, she stopped swimming competitively, but she still loves water. Haru-chan can't live without being in the water." Makoto began to smile. "In the summer, she swims in the ocean, and she was soaking in the tub this morning."

The blonde boy turned to Makoto. "What does that have to do with swimming? That means she likes to bathe." An idea sparked in his head. "I know! How about a hot springs club?" Haru didn't answer him. He was shaking her shoulder. "Let's start a hot springs club!"

"I can't take the heat," Haru answered.

Makoto smiled. _Nagisa hasn't changed one bit. _To him, seeing the two friends together was like a penguin trying to befriend a dolphin. It was a funny sight. Suddenly, he saw a girl with magenta-colored hair eating with another girl. He knew her, but couldn't put a finger in it.

...

Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa went off of the rooftop. "Have you heard, guys?" Nagisa said. "The swimming club we went to in grade school is going to be torn down." Haru eyes widened. _What? _she thought.

"So before that happens, why don't we pay a visit?" Nagisa asked.

"To dig that up?" Makoto questioned. Haru knew what he was talking about.

"Exactly!" He lowers his voice saying, "We need to sneak in at night..." He held his hands, creeper-style.

"You can go by yourself," Haru said. She was about to leave the two, but Nagisa blocked her.

"Don't say that! Come with us, Haru-chan!"

"I'm not going." She tried to move away from Nagisa, but the blonde still blocked her.

"Don't you think it'll be fun?!"

"I don't, thank you very much." Nagisa gave up.

"Why don't you just humor her?" suggested Makoto.

"No. It's too much effort," said the black-haired water-lover.

"But there's a pool there." Haru become silent, not trying to react to the word "pool". "A pool is MUCH bigger than a bathtub." The two were waiting for their female friend's reaction. She looked at Makoto with big, sparkly eyes. He blushed a little.

* * *

When school was over and the sun was setting, Makoto and Nagisa were in Haru's home. "You live by yourself, Haru-chan?" the blonde boy asked.

"Her mom went with her dad when he had to move because of work," Makoto explained. He sniffed the air. It smelled like grilled fish. "Fish again, Haru-chan?" He and Nagisa went to her while she was grilling the fish.

"Nobody's forcing you to eat it," she said.

"Looks delicious!" Nagisa said. "Haru-chan was always a good cook!" Makoto smiled, then his expression darkened.

"So, are you sure about this?" he asked.

Nagisa looked at him funny. "Weren't you all for it earlier? Are you scared?

"It's not that. Is it okay just for the three of us to dig it up?"

The blonde boy frowned. "Can't do anything about that. Rin isn't in Japan anymore." Just hearing Rin's name made Haru miss him even more. Her face looked normal, but she felt sad. She remembered a moment from her childhood with Rin in it.

**Flashback:**

_Haru, Makoto, and Rin were outside. They were looking at some writing on some short brick walls. Suddenly, Rin said, "I'm not going to attend middle school here." Haru's eyes widened. She didn't think he was serious._

_"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Makoto._

_"I'm moving to Australia," Rin answered._

_"Austrailia?" said Haru. "You're moving to another country?"_

_"Yep. I'm going to a swimming school." He was smiling. Haru looked calmly mad and looked at the walls. One brick said, "For The Team". _

What are you trying to do to us? _She thought._

_"I'm going to be an Olympic swimmer!" Rin smiled bigger. Haru looked even more calmly mad._

_"Why haven't you told us that earlier? What about the relay?" Makoto questioned._

_Rin stopped smiling. "I'll swim the relay. I'll leave the day after the tournament. So this will the last time the four of us swim together." Makoto looked at Rin. She didn't look happy. He was worrying about her._

_"You only swim freestyle, right, Nanase-chan?" Rin asked. She still looked mad. "Well, that's why I need you for the tournament! This is our last chance!" He grabbed Haru's hands. "Please swim with me, Nanase-chan!" Haru's cheeks warmed a little bit. Makoto was getting jealous of Rin. Haru refused to see the magenta-haired boy and looked at the wall._

_Rin giggled. "Stop being so tsundere, Nanase-chan!"_

_Makoto was getting envious. "That's enough, Rin."_

_"Hold on a sec." Rin paused, then said, "Haru, if you swim with me..." She had no choice but to look at him. When she did, he was smiling and the wind was blowing his hair. "I'll show you a sight you've never seen before!"_

**End of Flashback**

* * *

At night, the trio was at the building. It looked worn-down. Makoto had a shovel.

"This place looks pretty trashed," said the green-haired guy.

"Oh! Just in case!" Nagisa unfolded a piece of paper and revealed salt. "Purifying salt."

Haru looked confused. "What do you need salt for?"

"They say this place is haunted," explained the yellow-haired boy.

Makoto grinned nervously. "Don't scare me."

"I'm not lying!" Nagisa said. Makoto shivered. Nagisa continued, "People have been seeing shadows moving around and heard sobbing voices." Makoto looked terrified. Nagisa threw the salt on Makoto, then Haru. The black-haired girl noticed something. She tapped her finger on the "salt" then put the small pieces in her mouth.

"This isn't salt, it's sugar," she stated. Makoto and Nagisa just glared at her.

...

Inside the building, Nagisa had a flashlight on. "Well, it's mental anyway, so sugar can still get the job done," he said.

"Cliché," Haru said.

"It is one of the oldest mistakes out there," Makoto added. Just then, something fell and made a noise. Makoto freaked out and grabbed on Haru.

"What is it?!" he yelped. Haru was getting annoyed.

"Makoto, you're on my chest," she said in an annoyed tone. Makoto quickly got his face out of her chest and said, "Sorry, Haru-chan." She sighed.

"My foot accidentally hit an empty can," Nagisa said.

Makoto looked annoyingly at him, "You did that on purpose..." He cried, "ARE YOU?!"

"You're always afraid of the dark," Nagisa stated.

"You're not helping any!"

"Sorry."

Haru heard some footsteps. She couldn't tell if it was real or part of her imagination. She ignored it and went on.

...

The trio looked around the school. Some of the things they saw weren't as worn-down and brought back memories to them. They reached to a lounge room. Nagisa spotted something. "Look!" he said. Everyone gathered around to see one picture. Nagisa flashed the flashlight on it. He pointed at it.

"This is the picture from when we won the relay!" the blonde boy stated. Haru saw her as a young girl with Rin, who had his arm around her and was carrying the trophy. She remembered the relay clearly and the time capsule.

**Flashback:**

_"The four of us won together, so it doesn't make sense for one person to take it home," said Rin. "So let's put it in a time capsule..." He paused as he put the lid on the capsule. "And dig it up when we're grown up!" He looked at Haru. "Romantic, right?" She blushed and looked away from him._

**End of Flashback**

"Haru-chan," Makoto called. Haru snapped out of her memory. "Let's go." She left the picture. "Yeah." They exited the room and walked on.

"C-can you pick up the pace a little?" asked Makoto as he was tugging Haru's shirt.

"What am I? Your babysitter?" she said. Makoto tugged on her shirt again to stop her. The two actually saw a figure coming to them. Haru squinted her eyes to see what it was. A figure of a man around her age...wearing a sports cap, sports jacket, and a sports outfit. Makoto let out a little squeak. Haru still couldn't identify the man coming to them. Suddenly, in the moonlight, the color, magenta, shown in his eyes and hair. Haru's eyes widened. _It can't be him, _she thought. _It can't be..._

"Yo," the man said.

"Who's that?" asked Nagisa.

"I c-can't tell," Makoto answered.

_I can, _Haru was thinking.

The man stretched the back of his cap. "I didn't think I'd run into you guys here." He let the back of his cap hit his head. That made everyone realize who he was. He took off his cap and revealed himself.

"Rin-chan!" Nagisa said.

"Rin!" Makoto shouted.

Nagisa jumped to Rin. "You're back from Australia!"

"What are you doing around here?" asked the green-haired guy.

"Oh man! This must be fate!" Nagisa shouted. "Some unseen force brought us all here at this exact-"

Rin was getting tired of this, so he cut the blonde boy off by saying to Haru, "So Gorgeous, you're hanging around with these losers?"

Haru looked lost. _Gorgeous? _

"Since when have you've been calling Haru-chan that?" Nagisa asked.

"And what are you talking about, Rin?" Makoto added.

"You never learn," Rin finished, ignoring the two.

"And what about you, Rin?" she questioned. "What have you learned?"

He grinned as he was cracking his neck back and forth. "Glad you asked. Let's race, Gorgeous." He was walking away. Haru was getting annoyed of her new nickname, but she accepted his challenge by walking with him.

"Wait, Haru-chan!" Makoto shouted. She was walking with Rin. _Rin should have stayed back in Australia, _he thought a bit angrily.

"Looks like we need to follow them," Nagisa suggested. The two ran off to them.

...

In the pool room, Rin took his shirt off. Haru took her shirt AND pants off. Just as Makoto and Nagisa came in, Rin said to Haru, "Man, you look better than when I last saw you, Gorgeous." Haru couldn't tell if this was Rin Matsuoka, the one she missed a lot, or some perverted Rin look-alike that's been stalking her in a sneaky way.

"They're going to swim here?!" Nagisa shouted. Makoto didn't like this kind of Rin. He suddenly noticed something about the pool.

"Haru-chan! Don't! It's a bad idea!" he yelled. Haru ignored it and began to stretch.

"Wait, you wore THAT all day?!" Makoto asked as he noticed Haru's swimsuit.

"Rin-chan too?" Nagisa added as he saw Rin in swimming wear.

"We have to stop them!"

"Do we really?"

"Hey!"

Rin and Haru glared at each other. Rin had his goggles on. They both ran to the diving boards.

"Let's do it, Gorgeous!" shouted Rin as he put his goggles on his eyes.

"Stop calling me Gorgeous," the black-haired female swimmer demanded. The two got into position on their diving boards.

"Ready, go!" Rin shouted. But neither of them moved. The pool was actually dry and empty. Nagisa flashed the flashlight on it.

"There isn't any water," he stated.

"I TOLD you guys to stop," Makoto said.

Rin took off his goggles and got off the diving board. "Lame." Haru got off the board, really ticked off.

"Oh yeah. You guys came here for this?" Rin asked as he held up the trophy from the relay years ago.

"Oh! Our trophy!" Nagisa stated.

"I don't need this thing anymore." He dropped it as he left. "See ya, Gorgeous." Makoto reached for the trophy, but it hit the ground.

"Rin-chan...he really changed." Haru just stared at him. _Just who is he?_

* * *

**Done! What do you think?**

**Review please! Follow and favorite too!**

**I can't wait for the next season of Free! *fangirls* Are you ready for it? :D**

**I'll see you all later! Byas!**


	3. That Race

**Here's the third chapter! Enjoy!**

**Dark-Angel-Princess 01: Thanks for your review!**

**krito1389: Thanks for your review!**

**Little Ms. Pumpkin: I'm glad it's out now! Thanks for your review!**

***Warning: Chapters may be longer.***

* * *

**That Race...**

The next day at Iwatobi High, Haru was sleeping outside. Makoto just couldn't stop looking at her cute sleeping face. He always thought she was cute.

"Ah, so you still have feelings for Haru-chan, eh Mako-chan?" Nagisa whispered to him. Makoto blushed.

"What the-what makes you think that?!" he asked.

Nagisa grinned. "It's obvious. You're looking at her like she was your girlfriend."

"I-I am not!"

"Ha! You stuttered! You love her!" Nagisa raised his voice. "Mako-chan and Haru-chan, sittin' in a tree-"

"Could you two please shut up?" a sleepy Haru asked. "I'm trying to sleep here."

"Yeah, Nagisa!" Makoto said.

"You too, Makoto," she added as she fell back to sleep.

"It was weird last night though. Rin-chan was acting very weird," said Nagisa quietly.

"Maybe it was a look-alike..." whispered Makoto.

"Maybe he is a look-alike..." Haru agreed.

"But why would a look-alike challenge YOU for a race?"

"A ghost."

"But he wasn't floating," stated Nagisa.

"Doppelganger."

"Wait, that takes me back!" said the green-haired swimmer. "We used to do that in the swim club! Super Fusion: Doppelga-"

"Can't you guys see that I'm trying to sleep?" Haru just wanted some rest.

"Oh come on! What's wrong with you guys?!" Makoto questioned in a raised voice.

Haru shot up and said, "I'll say this one more time. Be quiet!" There was silence. Haru laid down on the grass again. "Thank you." She started to sleep again.

"Man, that was so out of character for Haru-chan to act-" Nagisa whispered until he was cut off.

"That goes for you too, Nagisa," she stated. Nagisa became quiet too. Haru was sleeping in peace.

_Haru-chan... _Makoto thought. He bent his brows a bit. _Is it Rin?_

...

In the faulty office later on, Nagisa and Makoto asked if they could start a swim club, but one of the staff said no. Later, they looked for Rin's name on the lockers.

"Are you sure he goes to this school?" Nagisa asked.

"If he's back from Austrailia, I'm sure he transferred to this school," Makoto answered.

"But I didn't see him in the opening ceremony." Makoto kept looking and looking until...

"Found him!" he shouted.

Nagisa popped up. "Really?"

"No wait..." Makoto saw Matsuoka...but it's Gou. "Matsuoka Gou? That sounds familiar..." Then it popped up at him. He knew the magenta-haired girl from the day before! "That's his sister! Matsuoka Gou!"

...

Haru was back at her home, soaking in the bathtub in her swimsuit like always. She heard the doorbell ringing. She planted herself into the water, ignoring the doorbell. Outside, the one ringing the doorbell was Gou. After a few minutes of Haru not answering, she left. When she turned though, she saw no other more than Nagisa and Makoto.

...

Gou, Nagisa, and Makoto were together at one place. "So you also go to Iwatobi Swim School, Gou-chan," said Nagisa.

"Ugh, don't call me Gou. Everybody calls me Kou!" Gou stated.

"Huh? Why? Your name's Gou, like the Sengoku lord Azai Nagamasa's third daughter, right?"

"Yeah, but the typical reading is Kou, so call me that. That would the best thing to do."

"Uh...so putting that stuff aside..." Makoto said finally.

"'That stuff'?!" she yelled.

Makoto sweat-dropped. "Sorry. But, why were you at Haru's place?"

Then Gou sweat-dropped. "Oh...I was going to ask her about my brother."

"So, Rin's back from Austrailia?"

Gou explained, "He returned a month ago and he's attending Samezuka Academy now. It's a boarding school, so he hasn't come home."

"Samezuka?!" Makoto asked in shock. "The swimming powerhouse?!" Gou nodded.

...

"No," Haru answered.

"C'mon, let's go to Samezuka Academy!" Nagisa urged. "Don'tcha wanna see Rin again?"

"I saw him last night." Haru dried her hair with a towel.

Makoto sighed. "And here I thought you were going to swim when we get there." Haru stopped drying her hair and became silent. "I mean, Samezuka has an indoor pool." Haru looked up at him with those sparkly blue eyes of hers. Makoto blushed.

"Ha! You love Haru!" Nagisa said.

"Funny, Nagisa. He's my friend," Haru stated.

"Thanks, Haru-chan," Makoto said. _Although it's true..._

...

Later, the trio took a train and arrived at the Samezuka Academy. They snuck behind the window of the swim club there and peeked a look. "Do you see Rin?" Nagisa asked.

"Can't find him," answered Makoto. "Maybe he's out today." He turned to Haru. "Hey, Ha-" She was taking her school uniform off, revealing her swimsuit...and large chest. Makoto let out a small nosebleed. He wiped it off and stopped her as she was going to take her skirt off. "H-hey! Don't strip out here!"

Haru sighed. "I want to swim. You said there was a pool here."

"How about we wait until practice is over and we can go in, okay?" Nagisa asked.

"Fine," Haru said.

"We'll still be trespassing," Makoto said.

"No worries, Mako-chan. That teacher from earlier told us to do what we want with our li-" Suddenly, they both heard a skirt drop. They saw Haru in her full swimsuit.

"Can't you wait?!" Haru shrugged.

...

At night, they went inside. As they entered the pool, Haru stripped down to her swimsuit again. Makoto, not noticing, began to worry. "I still think this a bad idea," he admitted. When Haru was in her swimming suit, she jumped into the water. She began to swim. Makoto and Nagisa noticed.

"Man, Haru-chan still reminds me of a dolphin," Nagisa stated. He whispered to Makoto, "And like a dolphin, she has a elegant body."

Makoto blushed. "St-stop it! What is it with you today?!" Suddenly, Nagisa started to take off his clothes. "What the-"

"Let's swim with her, Mako-chan!" Nagisa said as he took off his shirt.

"But we'll get in trouble if they find us here! Plus, we need to find Rin."

"We'll take a little dip first. Plus, nobody's gonna find us if we don't turn on the lights."

"But you didn't bring a swimming suit!"

Nagisa took off his pants AND underwear off. "A skinny little dip then."

"What?! What about Haru-chan?!"

"She won't notice." Before Makoto could stop him, he cannonballed into the water. Makoto face-palmed. _Don't tell me this is really happening... _he thought.

"Mako-chan, come over here!" Nagisa demanded.

He sighed and walked to him. "What now? I'm not going to join-" Just then, when he was close to the pool, a hand got his ankle and dragged him into the water. When he splashed down, his school jacket was off and he rose up all soaked and wet with his clothes on. Nagisa laughed. Makoto took off his shirt and flung it over to the floor.

"Seriously!" he shouted. "Nagisa..." Just then, the two were splashing water at each other. Meanwhile, Haru was floating in the water, ignoring the two and smiling.

_It's nice to feel this again..._ she thought. _Don't you think so? _She was thinking childishly, talking to the water in her mind, but she didn't care. It was nice going into a pool again. Just then, she submerged herself into the water. She opened her eyes. She loved the scenery of the water. Plus, the moonlight. It was a gorgeous sight. Of course, Nagisa's nude ruined it all. But, you know, boys... Suddenly, Makoto and Nagisa heard the door opening and footsteps. The moonlight shone on Rin.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked.

"We came to see-" Nagisa answered happily before being cut off by Rin.

"Get out."

He frowned. "Rin-chan..." Haru poked out of the water to see Rin.

"Gorgeous," Rin said to her. Haru rolled her eyes and swam to him.

"Free..." she said quietly.

"Huh?"

She looked up at him. "I told you I only swim freestyle."

Makoto looked at her. "Haru-chan..." he muttered. She climbed up from the pool.

She went on. "About three years until I'm ordinary. I guess it couldn't hurt to wait a bit longer." She paused to flip her hair back and forth. She smirked at Rin. "I want you to show me that sight again. I may have forgotten it." Rin made a face, then closed his eyes and grinned.

"Sure, I can do that," he said. "But..." He opened his eyes, which were full of competition and "hunger" like a shark's. "It won't be the same this time! I'll show you something completely different!" _Just to impress you, Gorgeous, _he thought. Haru nodded.

...

The two were on the diving boards, ready to swim to the death. Both had their swimming goggles on. "As always, I can't make any sense outta you, Gorgeous," Rin said.

"Whatever," she replied. "You better get ready...Handsome." Rin, Makoto, and Nagisa looked utterly confused.

"Eh?"

"If you're going to call me Gorgeous, I'll call you Handsome."

Rin snickered. "Works for me." Makoto gritted his teeth. Rin continued, "You're also as icy as ever. You're giving me the chills."

Haru sweat-dropped. _What happened to you? _she thought. She turned to Makoto. "Makoto-kun, give us the starting signal." He nodded. She put her goggles on and positioned herself on the board.

"We're swimming 100 meters, freestyle," Makoto announced. "Ready..." Rin shot a quick glance at Haru. He focused on her face. _Damn, she looks more than ready to beat me, huh? _"Go!" Haru and Rin jumped into the water and began racing each other.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Nagisa. "Rin had a stronger kick!"

"But Haru's stroke is faster," noted Makoto. _Haru-chan, please win... _he thought in worry.

* * *

In Rin's dorm that night, it was 2:21 a.m. He laid on his bed, still awake. Suddenly, his iPhone started to vibrate. He picked it up and saw a text from his sister, Gou. As he read it, he threw his phone across his bed and cursed under his breath. _Does this mean I can never beat her? _He grabbed a fistful of his hair in frustration. _Damn it!_

* * *

At the same night, Haru was soaking warm water in her bathtub naked. She grabbed a handful of water and threw it at a toy dolphin she had. She sighed in frustration. She couldn't get rid of a fluffy feeling of hers. What could this mean?

* * *

At Iwatobi High the next day, Haru, Makoto, and Nagisa were being yelled at by one of the staff. "Do you actually feel bad about what you've done?!" he yelled.

"Sorry," they all said, bowing down to him.

"First, you three trespass in an abandoned building and now you trespass in another school's pool?!" He face-palmed. "Honestly, I thought we said we weren't going to make a big deal out of this."

"Now, now, that's enough," said a sweet voice that belonged to Miho. She was saying a famous saying until the staff said that he hated fish. She excused herself. _You were great help, _Haru thought.

...

Nagisa and Makoto were walking together, talking about the situation. They suddenly noticed that Haru's ahead of them...WAY ahead of them. She left without them. Just then, Gou appeared.

"Oh hey Gou," Nagisa greeted.

"I told you to call me Kou," Gou shouted.

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes it does! It's Kou."

"Gou."

"Kou!"

"Gou."

"Kou!"

"Kou."

"Gou!"

"Haha! Got you!"

Gou was pulling on her hair angrily. She sighed. "Anyway, we need to talk."

* * *

"Sure, knock yourselves out," Haru said. She and her two guy friends were at her house. She was IN her bathtub FULL OF WATER again WEARING her SWIMSUIT, as usual.

"Really?!" Nagisa asked, his eyes sparkling. "Yay! We're good to go then! I'm so excited!" Makoto looked at Haru. She had that face where she doesn't give a care and looks a little sad. He thought she would turn it down.

**Flashback**:

_Gou asked them if they saw Rin. Nagisa said yes, but added that he was mean, challenged Haru to a race, and ignored him and Makoto completely. Makoto added that he started to call Haru "Gorgeous" for some reason! The two asked if Gou saw him. She shook her head and said she send him e-mails and called his cell, but never answered. The blonde swimmer asked her if something happened in Australia. She didn't know. She hoped he'd open up after seeing the three. Makoto asked if Gou was responsible for him showing up at the swim club. She didn't say she was "responsible", she was just trying to help. She happened to overhear their conversation and sent Rin a text. Though, he never answered. When the conversation was coming to an end, an idea popped into Nagisa's head._

_"Hey! I have a great idea!" he announced. "Let's start a swim club! Then we can see Rin-chan in the tournaments!"_

_"Well, I don't think Haru-chan will be turn up for that," the green-haired swimmer said._

**End of Flashback**

...

Later, the three including Gou were at a table. Haru was still in her bathing suit, drying her hair with a towel. Makoto asked, "Are you sure about this, Haru-chan? You'll have to join the team too."

"I know." She removed the towel from her head.

"Oh yeah! Haru-chan, this is Rin's sister!" Nagisa introduced.

She looked at her. "Ah, I know you. You're Matsuoka..." Gou gulped. "Kou?" Gou smiled.

"Yes!" She was relived someone actually call her that. "Sorry my brother caused you trouble last night."

"Don't sweat it," the dark-haired beauty said as she put a jacket on and an apron on. She head to the kitchen.

"Oh, if you're making tea, I have some squid to go with it!" Makoto said.

"What? Wouldn't chocolate be better?" suggested Nagisa.

"How about we'll compromise and have mackerel?" asked Haru.

"That's not a compromise!" Nagisa stood up and went to Haru. "I'll give you a hand!" Makoto was going to do that, but Nagisa beat him to her. He sighed.

Gou saw a trophy and a picture. She picked up the picture. "Everyone's smiling." _But Haru._

Makoto noticed and said, "That's when we all won at a tournament."

"So that's what the trophy's for."

"Yup. Haru-chan's the sole exception of the photo."

Nagisa returned with tea. "Haru-chan was smiling in the inside!"

Gou giggled. "You make it seem like she's a bad person!"

"So, this is Rin's first time back in Japan?" asked Makoto.

"No. He always comes back for New Years." answered Gou.

"WHAT?!" shouted Nagisa. "And he never told us?! He's mean!"

Haru was cooking squid and overhearing the conversation. She was expressionless on the outside, but in the inside, she felt something for Rin. Her heart sank when she heard that Rin came every New Year and didn't tell them he was there. That's why...that race...

* * *

**Stopping here. What do you think?**

**I realized I made Fem!Haruka and Rin have more chemistry than her and Makoto. In the next chapter, there will be more chemistry between the two! ;D**

**Read, review, follow, favorite! I'll see you all in the next chapter! Oh, and did you see Eternal Summer yet? ;)**


	4. Getting the Swim Club Ready

**Sorry for the wait. I have intense writer's block. :'( Here's the fourth chapter.**

**krito1389: I meant Makoto and Fem!Haruka is going to have more chemistry. Thanks for your review!**

* * *

**Getting the Swim Club Ready**

The next day at Iwatobi High, Nagisa had membership forms for everyone. "Since everyone is on board," he said. "I picked up a new club application form!"

"You move fast," said Makoto.

"It's important to keep the ball rolling. Let's see...the purpose of this club is..." Nagisa got to thinking. "To train our minds and bodies through swimming and improve the school experience."

"And you know what you're doing?"

"There will be three members initially. Mako-chan, you can be the captain!"

"Um...well, shouldn't it be Haru-chan?" asked Makoto. "She's the fastest swimmer."

"Ah, you would LOVE to have Haru-chan as the captain." Nagisa had his mischievous look on his face.

"Grah! What's wrong with you, Nagisa?!"

"Huh?" said Haru, who wasn't paying attention to the conversation at all.

"Anyway," continued the yellow-haired swimmer. "This isn't about speed. Different people are better at different things." They both looked at Haru. In their minds, they see Haru in a champion-looking swimwear. "First-years are on cleanup duty!" she commanded. "Second years are in charge of chlorine! Third years have a meeting once they've finished stretching!" A group of boys shouted in glee, "Yes, Captain Haru!"

"Yeah, I don't think so..." Makoto said. He thought it didn't suit her.

Nagisa was writing. "So that means Mako-chan is the captain..." There was that mischievous look on his face again. "And Haru-chan will be vice-captain!"

"H-Huh?!"

"Hey, don't just volunteer me," Haru said.

"Now, now, now. Vice captain is just an empty title with no actual responsibilities, so don't worry. Meanwhile, I'll be the treasurer..." He looked at a blank slot on the form. "...which means we need a faculty advisor."

"Well, any ideas?" said Makoto.

"I was thinking about asking Ama-chan."

"Miss Ama-chan?"

"I heard a crazy story from one of our classmates."

...

In the faculty office, Miho said, "What? I can't do it. Sports aren't my thing. I mean, I teach classical literature."

Nagisa pouted. "But I heard that until last year, you had a job in Tokyo involving swimsuits." Miho felt like she was going to have a heart attack. She whispered to him, "Hey! Not so loud! Who'd you hear that from?"

"It was from Nashimoto-kun, from our class."

"Did you work for a swimsuit designer?" Makoto asked.

"WHAT?! Y-yes...you could say that..."

Makoto was feeling happy. "In that case, we would be thrilled to have you advise us about the technology that goes with competitive swimwear!"

"Advise us!" Nagisa added. Miho was getting more and more shocked. The two bowed. "Please!" Miho didn't know what to say. Soon, she said, "If you really need me-"

"Thank you very much!" Makoto interrupted.

"Yay!" added Nagisa.

...

Haru was waiting outside the room. She looked outside the window, thinking about things.

* * *

At night, Rin was in the abandoned swim building. He looked at a portrait of the team when they won the tournament. Then he looked at another portrait. His face saddened, but he didn't cry. He took the portrait and left the building.

* * *

Miho got all the papers together. Nagisa, Haru, and Makoto were with her. "Now..." she said. "In regard to the swim club charter that you submitted..." They were waiting for an answer. "After strict review from the faculty..." She turned the paper and gleefully said, "It was approved!" Everyone but Haru was excited.

"Awesome! I knew we could count on a former swimwear company employee!" said Nagisa.

"Th-that's right... This is what I can do when I put my mind to it. However, a school organization is required to have four members, so you'll need to find a fourth member. And...there's one condition."

"No problem!"

"I'm willing to do anything!" said Makoto.

"Okay. Well...

* * *

The four got to the old pool...but...it was dirty and looked like a dead garden. "Whoa, so much nature."

"Nagisa-" Haru said.

"Yes," Miho interrupted. "You must restore this pool to a usable state."

Both Haru and Makoto stepped back, but Miho and Nagisa stopped them. They both smiled, which freaked the two out.

"You're not allowed to leave," Nagisa chimed.

"You said you were willing to do anything," added Miho.

"I...didn't say that," Haru stated. "Makoto did." Makoto wanted to deny that, but he couldn't.

...

The trio pulled out all the plants and junk out of every place in the pool. Haru was doing this with no problem. Makoto kind of thought she was a little cute when she's hard-working. They pulled out all the plants and junk and put it into one pile. Makoto told everyone about a crack in the pool. Later, Miho drove the trio to a hardware store. Makoto got all the things they need, but Haru unbuttoned her shirt, took off her pants, revealing her swimsuit, and was going to go into a fish tank. Luckily, Makoto and Nagisa stopped her from doing so.

At the school the next day, Nagisa showed her and Makoto the poster. They both sweat-dropped looking at it. He showed them another poster, which still made them sweat-drop. Soon, they met an art club. They agreed to paint a poster for them, as long as they use Haru for their projects. Haru really didn't care at all, but Nagisa and Makoto wanted her still.

Back at the pool, Nagisa trimmed off the vines and leaves growing on the fence while Haru and Makoto was fixing cracks and repainting in the pool.

...

Later, Makoto brought a bagged lunch with him. He was hoping he could have a chat with her. He was on the roof of the school "Haru?" he called out. "Haru? She's not here." He looked around and saw the black-haired beauty cleaning the pool. He smiled. _Haru-chan... _he thought happily.

...

Much later, the pool looked as good as new. Miho looked at it. "It's cleaned up rather nicely."

"Can't you get out of that chair and give us a hand?" Nagisa called out.

"Do you realize what you're saying?!" Miho replied. "The UV rays this time of year are very brutal. You're still young, so that's not an issue."

"This is kind of fun if you think about it," Makoto said to Haru. "Feels like back when we were in grade school."

"I'm pretty sure people don't ask grade-schoolers to fix a pool," Haru said.

Makoto let out a small smiled. "True."

Gou was back. She looked at the pool. "Wow! It's all cleaned up!" she interjected.

Nagisa noticed her and yelled, "Ah! Are you here to help us, Gou-chan?"

"I told you to call me Kou! Otherwise, you won't get any of this!"

"What?! You can't be serious!" _Her name's Gou? _Haru thought. _I thought it was Kou._

* * *

At the Samezuka dorms, Rin was in his room, looking at the picture he took from the building. He was thinking about the boy in the picture...and Haru...

* * *

At the school, Nagisa was finding a fourth member for the swim team. He found the perfect candidate. "Hey there! Interested in joining the swim club?"

The guy he asked push up his glasses and said, "I've already decided to join the track team." That bummed Nagisa.

...

Later, he was wearing swimming goggles and a swimming cap and had a mini-surfboard. "Let's have fun swimming together!" he said.

"Why would you want to swim in a pool when there's an ocean right over there?" a student asked. That bummed Nagisa again.

...

Much later, he still wore the cap and goggles. "If you join, you'll receive..." He got out a bird in mini-swimwear. "A year supply of Iwatobi's mascot character, Iwatobi-chan!"

A group of students said, "No thanks." The yellow-haired boy was even more bummed out.

...

"No luck!" Nagisa cried a room the trio was in. "Nobody wants to join!"

"So, we fixed the pool for nothing..." Haru said, making a bird doll.

"Oh come on, Haru-chan! Don't say that!" Suddenly, he looked at her. An idea popped into his head. "It's time to use our last resort! We have Ama-chan and Haru-chan give the shirt off their back for us!"

"How so?" asked Makoto.

"Advertise the fact that Ama-chan is our advisor and tell everyone they'll get to see her in a swimsuit if they join! And Haru-chan too!" Haru stopped making the dolls and stared daggers at the two. At the same time, Miho was listening to the conversation. "Excuse me?" they both said.

Makoto and Nagisa sweat-dropped. _Crap! _they both thought. Makoto thought, _Thanks a lot, Nagisa!_

"Makoto...you're not supporting this idea...are you?" Haru asked in a scary tone.

"Yeah, Mr. Tachibana?" added Miho. The two of them speaking like that scared him a lot.

"N-n-no! Of course not!" he lied. He would like to see Haru in a nice swimsuit though...

"Good, because if you do that, I'll quit immediately," said Miho.

"Me too," Haru added.

"I swore to myself never to put on a swimsuit again!"

"I'd wear a swimsuit when I SWIM, not to GET ATTENTION."

"Are we clear?" asked Miho. Makoto and Nagisa said, "Yes."

"Good." Haru began to make the birds again.

_That was a close one... _the green-haired swimmer thought.

...

Back at the pool, Makoto was painting the fence it's original color: Green. Gou came up to him with a bag of juice. "I'll leave the juice here," she said.

Makoto smiled. "Thanks."

As she set the juice on the ground, she continued speaking, "I don't quite get it, though."

Makoto looked confused. "Get what?"

"Why didn't you start a swim club when you were first-years?"

"Haru-chan wasn't interested."

"Really? She's a good swimmer."

"Haru-chan joined the swim club in middle school, but she quit at the end of our first year."

"Did something happen?"

Makoto shrugged. "She didn't want to talk about it. Our old swim club was shut down at the same time, and Haru-chan hasn't done competitive swimming ever since."

Gou looked at Haru. "You know, I'm glad Haru has a friend like you. She must be precious to you."

Makoto blushed a little. "Yeah, she is."

Gou smiled at him. "You're pretty kind to her. Stay that way, okay?" Makoto nodded. Gou went on, "Back to the conversation, I wonder if my brother felt the same way as Haru."

"Huh?" said Makoto.

"I was looking for my brother the other day..."

**Flashback:**

_Gou was in the swim club and she was amazed at the sight of the team. She was drooling over their pecs and abs until the captain appeared. She asked him if Matsuoka Rin was on the team. However, he said there's no member named "Matsuoka" on the team. Gou was shocked about this. How can her brother transfer to the water-powerhouse of a school, but not join the team?_

**End of Flashback**

"No way!" said Makoto. "He just raced Haru-chan and..."

"He must've lost," Gou interrupted. "That's why he's given up swimming."

"No, actually, that night..."

**Flashback:**

_Haru and Rin were racing each other. So far, the black-haired beauty was in the lead. "Haru-chan's so good," said Makoto._

_"Yep," Nagisa agreed. "She lost ground to Rin-chan in every turn, but he's nearly catching up now!"_

Haru-chan, please win, _Makoto thought._

_At the pool, Rin thought, _Damn! I can't shake her!

_As the two made the final turn, it turned out that...Rin is in the lead now! "No, Haru-chan..." Makoto muttered._

_The dark-haired beauty was getting tired. She suddenly sunk into the pool. She opened her eyes, took off her goggles, and saw how deep she was in the pool. _I remember this... _she thought. _I nearly drowned that one time in Nagisa's pool. Everyone was worried sick about me. Even Makoto. He looked heartbroken. I...don't want him to feel like that again. _Suddenly, Haru's lungs were gasping for air. _No! Not again! _She tried to swim up, but the surface looked far. Plus, she was exhausted. She stopped swimming. _Why am I doing this again? What is this feeling now?

_Rin hit the diving board side of the pool, showing that he won. However, he, Nagisa, and Makoto noticed Haru wasn't swimming anymore. "Where's Haru-chan?!" asked Nagisa worriedly. Suddenly, both Rin and Makoto saw her sinking into the bottom of the pool._

_"Haru-chan!" Makoto shouted as he dove into the pool._

Oh no you don't! _thought Rin as he dove into the pool as well. They both were grabbed Haru and noticed each other. A flash of hatred flickered between them. However, they both brought Haru up to the surface. Haru was coughing and gasping for air._

_"Haru-chan! Are you okay?!" Makoto asked in shock. "Answer me!"_

_As Haru stopped coughing, she replied, "I'm okay, Makoto."_

_"You promised us not drown again!" Nagisa noted. Haru just wanted to go home now. She felt like she isn't feeling well._

_"Thanks for saving me, you two," she mumbled as she let Makoto and Rin let go of her. She swam and got up on the floor._

Gorgeous... _Rin thought. _Damn it!

**End of Flashback**

"WHAT?!" Gou interjected. "My brother won, but Haru almost drowned?!"

Makoto was saddened. "Yeah, that's what happened."

_That's why he couldn't respond to my text that day... _Gou thought.

"Plus, Haru said that night..."

**Flashback**

_Haru turned to Rin, who was still in the water. She told him, "You win. That was great, Handsome." Rin felt a little happy that she said that. He wanted to impress her after all. But, that's all she said. "That was great" without a smile on her face and with a sad tone. He looked saddened. _

**End of Flashback**

"That was when we were found by a teacher who heard all the noise," finished Makoto.

"Of course he would look sad after losing," Gou said.

"But, at least Haru-chan is back to her old-self. After all, she wanted to swim. She was never one who could care about winning or improving their time."

Gou looked at Haru again and said, "Would my brother go back to his old-self too?" She remembered being there when the original team won the tournament. Rin was so happy and cheerful that time. She changed the subject. "You still need a fourth member to join, right?"

"Uh, yeah," answered Makoto.

"Then...let me join!" Gou offered. Makoto did not expect that offer. "You're the only ones that can change my brother. If you're willing to have me, I can serve as your manager and help you out!"

"Ooh, ooh! What's going on?!" Nagisa shouted.

"Kou-chan offered to join the swim club!" Makoto shouted.

"Really?! Yes! That means the swim club is open for business! Yay!"

With no one noticing, Haru smiled. Once the pool is done and filled up, she'll feel like she's in paradise again. But not like what happened in the race.

* * *

The next day, the pool was fixed and filled with water. "Okay," said Miho. "Here's to the establishment of the swim club!" Everyone including her had a cup of juice. They bumped them into each other and said, "Cheers!" They began to drink the juice.

"It's not warm enough to start swimming, but we filled the pool as a test-run!" Miho explained. "All we have to do is to toss these in together." Each person had a tablet in their hands. Haru couldn't stop looking at the pool. She was astonished by it. Everyone threw the tablets into the water.

"The swim club is finally ready to go!" Nagisa said gleefully.

"Well, we can't get into the pool yet-" Makoto said before he saw Haru taking off her clothes. She was wearing her swimsuit under it. "Wait, Haru-chan! You wore your swimsuit again?!" He had a small nosebleed that he quickly wiped off. That swimsuit looked good on her... Suddenly, she jumped into the pool and floated on it. "H-Haru-chan! It's too cold to swim in right now!"

"So?" she said. Just her saying that made Makoto remember when they were kids. He smiled. He can't stop her after all.

Nagisa giggled. "Just like back when we were kids! She looks comfortable, so I see no problem."

"I guess soooo-wait! Your lips are turning purple!" Gou exclaimed to Haru.

"Don't care," Haru replied as she emerged herself into the water. Makoto began to worry about her, but she's back to who she was, so why bother? Haru-chan is Haru-chan after all. Makoto loved her the way she is.

* * *

At Haru's home, she was wearing a top that revealed her bellybutton and short shorts. She also wore a hoodie. She sneezed countless times.

"Uh, Haru-chan? Are you okay?" asked the green-haired swimmer.

"I'm fine," answered the dark-haired swimmer, wiping her nose. Makoto grabbed a box of napkins and handed it to Haru. "I said I-" She got interrupted by a loud sneeze.

"You still need it, Haru-chan," said Makoto. "After all, you swam in the pool in April. You're just sick is all."

"I'm not-" She sneezed once again.

"You are."

"Fine." Haru grabbed the box of napkins and touched Makoto's hand. They both began to blush. Haru looked away, took the tissue box, and wiped her nose with a tissue. "Th-thank you."

Suddenly, a certain yellow-haired boy burst into the room. "Hey you guys!" he shouted. "Gou-chan told me that Rin-chan has joined the Samezuka swim team!" Just hearing the magenta-haired man's name brought silence into the room. That downed Nagisa mood. "What's wrong, you guys?"

"Nothing!" Makoto and Haru said in union.

Nagisa flashed his mischievous face at them. "Nothing, eh?"

"Don't you think about it!" exclaimed Makoto. "...But since Rin's in that swim team, we'll run into him in a tournament."

Nagisa's mood then brightened. "Then we'll enter a tournament and we can do relays again!"

Haru grabbed a magazine and started to read it. "I only swim freestyle," she said to Nagisa.

"Does that mean you can't swim relays?!" Nagisa exclaimed. For the past half hour, Haru was still reading the magazine while ignoring Nagisa's pleads. Makoto wished he had some popcorn to see this.

"PLEASE OH PLEASE!" pleaded Nagisa. "DON'T SAY THAT! Come on..."

Haru, tired of ignoring Nagisa's pleading, stated, "We can't swim a relay with only 3 people."

Nagisa stopped pleading. "Does that mean...WE HAVE TO FIND ONE MORE MEMBER?!"

* * *

**Bleargh. I need to stop here. How was this chapter?**

**Well, starting the swim club is done! Now for more chemistry and competition!**

**Follow, favorite, and review if you haven't done so! Tell me if there's a typo or anything. I'll see you all in the next chapter! ;D**


	5. Getting a New Member

**Here's the fifth chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Getting a New Member**

Haru was at the pool, not being in it, which was hard for her. She sneezed. _I want to have that magical feeling again... _Haru thought. Makoto told her she can't swim until it gets warmer. She just stared at the water. And sneezed once again.

"Whoa!" said Nagisa's voice from far away. Haru got up and checked out what was going on. In the room, Nagisa and Makoto awed at what Gou was showing them. "We can swim here in the off-season! Awesome!"

"Right?" said Gou, smiling. "I think schools like us without indoor pools can probably use facilities like these."

"Way to go, Gou-chan!"

"You're supposed to call me Kou!"

Everyone noticed Haru. "Haru-senpai." The dark-haired beauty took the paper and looked at it. "How are we going to pay for it?" she asked.

"With our club budget of course!"

"The gym is pretty expensive to pay though," Makoto stated. "If our club budget can really cover that..." He trailed off as he saw the blue eyes on Haru's face sparkle.

_This is why we started a swim club, _Haru thought to herself.

"That's probably what you're thinking."

Haru pouted and said, "Shut up."

"This means we can swim year round!" Nagisa said gleefully.

* * *

"That's not possible," said Miho. The four swim club members were in the faculty office.

"What? Why?" Nagisa asked, feeling down.

"The school isn't going to give that much money to a brand-new club with no accomplishments. There is an aphorism form the Bible: 'He who does not work, neither shall he eat.'"

Makoto sweat-dropped. "I don't think you're using it the right way."

"You can't eat a pool," Nagisa added.

"So, we'll get the money if we deliver accomplishments?" Gou asked.

"I suppose so," Miho answered. "That's the best way to secure lots of money for your club."

"Accomplishments..." Haru said quietly.

"So what if we can place in a summer tournament?" Makoto asked.

"Your request might be approved at a second-term budget review meeting. But you'll need at least four swimmers to bolster your case."

Haru was playing with the collar of her uniform. _Swimmers...just one more of us...then I can swim freely like a bird! _Haru went out of the office.

"W-wait, Haru-chan!" Makoto called out.

"Ah, it looks like she's motivated!" Nagisa said.

Haru had a spare Iwatobi-chan doll in her hand, so she went to a couple of students and took out the bird. "Hey," she said to them in a dark tone. The two saw her and froze where they are. "I'll give you this if you join my swim club."

"Uh...no thanks," the two students said as they left her. Haru tried at least.

"Man, that's all Haru-chan can manage," Makoto said.

"Don't let it get to you, Haru-chan!" Nagisa shouted.

* * *

Later, Nagisa dragged Haru and the others to the track field. They all saw the "perfect" fourth member of the team.

"Is that him?" Haru asked, pointing at a guy with blue hair and red glasses.

"Yes!" Nagisa answered.

"I remember him. Wasn't he on the swim team in middle school?"

"Does he hold a record?" Gou asked. Haru shrugged.

"It's his name!"

"His name?" Makoto repeated.

"Ryugazaki Rei-chan!" Nagisa said. "He's the same as us!"

"That's your reason?" Haru asked.

"Look at those deltoids..." Gou softly said with her fangirl face on her.

Haru sweat-dropped. "Looks like Kou-chan agrees with him." She looked at Rei. "Oh, he's about to jump." Everyone was watching how Rei calculated how he's going to do and pole-jumped over the bar. He did it flawlessly. He didn't hit the bar at all! He landed nicely on the mat. _Impressive, I guess, _Haru thought.

"His form was beautiful!" Makoto said. "He must be a great diver."

"Absolutely! And those biceps look beautiful!" Gou squealed.

Nagisa was just speechless at the performance. Haru sighed. _Oh gosh._

* * *

The next day, Nagisa told Haru and Makoto that there's no luck. He told them he doesn't like water.

"Don't let him join then," Haru said. "We don't need anyone like that. Don't let him into the water."

"But, if you say that...NOBODY CAN JOIN!" Nagisa said. "We'll have to spend the winter lifting weights and jogging!" He got closer to her face, which made Makoto uneasy. "You want that, Haru-chan?! Are you really okay with that?!" She turned her head and muttered, "No."

Nagisa pulled himself back. "I think we'll need Ama-chan to strip down for us, and if that doesn't work...then Haru-chan-" Haru suddenly had dark aura around her.

"I'm...sitting...right...here..." she said in a scary voice.

Makoto shivered. "I-it's not like I'm supporting this idea or anything! I think it's a bad idea!"

"Well, thank you, Mr. Tachibana," said Miho's scary voice. Everyone turned to her. She had the same aura and look as Haru.

* * *

At sunset, Haru and Makoto were walking back home. "Nagisa and his outlandish ideas..." Haru mumbled.

"H-hey, I said I didn't agree to it!" Makoto said. He remembered he wanted to tell Haru something. "Haru-chan?" He got the silent treatment from her. "It sounds like we'll be entering tournaments. Are you really okay with that?" Still got the silent treatment. "E-even if you're going to race Rin again...and...beating him?"

Haru bit her lip at Rin's name. "Who told you?" she asked.

"I...happen to ran into Couch Sasabe the other day." Makoto remembered when he went to the old swim club and ran into the tan, blonde man he knew was Couch Sasabe. He smiled.

"It's all in the past now. Besides, he's swimming again. That's enough for me." Makoto smiled again, this time, at Haru.

Haru changed the subject, saying, "Why can't I get back into the pool?"

Makoto was surprised that she asked that. "Because I don't want you to get sick, Haru-chan."

"I'm not a little kid and you're not my parents. I can take care of myself."

"Well, you can't swim if you get sick. I'm helping you."

Haru just kept glaring at the ocean. "I can swim with a cold."

"That cold is going to turn bad if you keep swimming in cold water. Think about it, Haru-chan."

The dark-haired girl sighed. "Why are you so protective of me, Makoto?"

_Because I love you, _he thought. But he couldn't tell her that, so he said, "Because you're my best friend. Best friends look out for each other."

_I guess it makes sense, _Haru thought. _I consider him a friend after all. _Haru suddenly felt her heart flutter. _Gah! What's happening?! Why is my heart like this?!_ _I guess I care for Makoto?_

* * *

The next day at the pool, the swim club member met up with each other. "Alright you guys, listen," Gou announced. "Amazingly, I was able to schedule a joint practice with Samezuka!"

Nagisa and Makoto were excited. "What?! Really?!" exclaimed Nagisa.

"Did you ask your brother?" Makoto asked.

"My brother wouldn't listen to me, so I went straight to the coach."

"Ha! That's our super manager, Gou-cha-"

"Kou."

"That means we have permission to swim in Samezuka's pool now," Makoto stated.

Haru's eyes twinkled. _Yes... _she thought. _YES..._

"But...since it's a joint practice, we'll need four members at a minimum," Gou stated.

"Aw, that means we need to recruit a new member during practice," Nagisa said. "Especially since Gou-chan used her sex appeal to give us this chance."

"WHAT?! I DID NOT use sex appeal!" Gou shouted.

"Wait, you didn't? Really?"

"OF COURSE NOT!"

"Seriously, Nagisa, it's like you're a pervert or something," Haru stated.

"Heh?! I'm not!"

"You thought of using me and Miss Amakata for recruiting by wearing a swimsuit, TWICE, and now you thought Kou used sex appeal to give us this chance?"

"Yeah, that's true..." Makoto agreed.

"Whoa whoa whoa! I swear! I'm not a pervert! Honest!" Nagisa looked straight at her eye. She sighed.

"Fine, I guess you're not. But stop thinking like that, will you?" Nagisa nodded. "Good."

* * *

Rin was jogging with the swim team of Samezuka. He stopped to take a breather. "Nobody told me there would be joint practice," he panted. A boy with short gray hair and blue eyes was next to him to take a breather as well.

"The captain made the call," he said. "Your little sister is part of the Iwatobi swim club, right? Their members are Nanase Haru, Tachibana Makoto, and Hazuki Nagisa. At least one of them doesn't have a girly-" He looked up at Rin, who had the face that said, "Shut up". "Sorry..."

"How did you know?" the magenta-haired man asked.

"I participated in that tournament," said the gray-haired boy. "I believe it was your last tournament as a grade schooler, Matsuoka-senpai. My team lost at the prelims. That race was AMAZING to watch! Oh wait, was there a girl with you too?" Rin didn't have time for this, so he ran while the boy was still talking. The boy noticed and said, "Matsuoka-senpai! Wait for me!"

_Gorgeous... _Rin thought in a down mood.

* * *

Haru was feeding some pet food to a few stray cats. She sneezed once again and the cats ran away. _I remember that my late grandma said that you sneeze when someone's talking about you... _she thought. _So someone must've talked about me._

* * *

At Iwatobi High the next day, Haru and Makoto saw Nagisa panting. "What are you doing?" Makoto asked.

"H...Haru-chan...Mako-chan..." Nagisa panted. "Oh, Rei-chan." The two saw the blue-haired, glasses-wearing man coming to them.

"So, are you Haru-chan-san?" Rei asked.

"Yes," Haru answered.

"Is something up?" Nagisa asked Rei.

"I'm willing to participate in your joint practice as a trial member," Rei answered.

"What?! Really?!" Nagisa's eyes sparkled.

"But on one condition. I'm not swimming."

* * *

Later at Samezuka Academy, the swim club arrived at the pool. Gou was fangirling over the Samezuka swim team's members. Then she fangirled over to Makoto.

"Hey, thanks for coming," the captain said.

The team bowed down to him. "Thank you very much!"

"Uh, sure." He looked at Haru. "So you're Nanase-san, right?" Haru looked up at him. "I heard you're the only girl on the swim team, yeah?" Haru nodded. "You won bunch of regional tournaments in grade school, right?" Haru nodded again. As the captain was talking to her, Rin arrived and looked at her. _Still looking great as usual, _Rin thought. _But is Gou..._

Gou noticed her big brother and ran to him. Nagisa went with her. "Big brother!" she exclaimed.

"Gou, what are you trying to do?" Rin asked.

"Rin-chan!" said Nagisa. "We can swim together again! Let's have fun today!"

"'Together?'" Rin repeated. "Hmph. You guys are a waste of my time, except for Gorgeous." He left the indoor pool just then.

"Big bro..." Gou muttered.

"What's his problem?" Rei asked, confused.

"Yeah, there's some history there," Makoto said.

...

"I was thinking that you could practice with our first-years today," the captain stated. He clapped his hands together. "Okay! Let's start with the individual time trials." He looked at Rei. "You there. Get in your swimsuit."

"Uh, I'm not-" Rei said before getting cut off by Nagisa.

"Sorry! He forgot to bring his swimsuit!" the yellow-haired boy lied.

"What? Why is he here then?" the captain questioned. "Ah well, we have a spare swimsuit, so get changed! Hey, Nitori!" The gray-haired boy went to Rei and said, "Follow me."

"I said I'm not-" Rei got cut off again as Nitori got him into the changing room.

Nagisa sweat-dropped. "Uh-oh..."

...

Rei was back in a spare swim brief. "The deal was that I cannot swim," Rei said, being very ticked.

"Don't worry," Nagisa replied. "These time trials are just for practice, so it doesn't matter if you're slow."

"But that's not the issue!"

"Oh, it's Mako-chan's turn!"

Makoto put on some swimming goggles and positioned himself on the board. From the corner of his eye, he saw Rin on the upper-level of the indoor pool. They both shot competition sparks at each other. As the whistle was blown, Makoto dived into the water.

"Alright! I'm next!" Nagisa stated as he put on his swimming goggles and went on the board. As Makoto hit the diving board side of the pool, Nagisa positioned himself on the board.

"Ready..." announced the Samezuka coach. He blew the whistle and Nagisa dived into the water.

"You're up next, Ryugazaki-kun," Makoto said.

"What?! I told you, I'm not-" Rei got cut off ONCE AGAIN.

"Yo, next swimmer! Get on the board!" the captain demanded.

"You might as well," Makoto said.

Rei gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! I'll do it!" He took off his glasses and put on a swimming cap and goggles.

"Don't underestimate the water," Haru warned him.

"I'm not!" Rei got on the board and positioned himself. He calculated how he would go. As Nagisa hit the diving board side of the pool, the whistle blew off. Rei jumped...and did a belly-flop on the water. The team was shocked. "WHAAAAAAT?!" they all said. Haru is realizing he can't go back up.

_I warned him, _she thought as she jumped into the pool to save him. Nagisa joined with her.

"Is he okay?!" the Samezuka captain worriedly asked. Haru and Nagisa pulled him back up. He coughed and breathed for some air.

"Don't worry, Rei, I feel your pain," Haru whispered to him. He wondered why she said that.

...

Rei sat with a towel on his head, being down.

"So, Rei-chan, you can't swim?" Nagisa asked.

"Yeah..." he answered. "Do you think it's all MY fault?! I told you I wasn't going to swim!"

"You could have said something earlier..."

"I wasn't going to admit I couldn't swim. That would go against my sense of beauty!"

"Rei-chan..."

"I'll clear things up with Samezuka. Sorry about forcing you into this situation," Makoto said. "Oh, it's Haru-chan's turn to swim."

Haru put on her goggles and swimming cap and went on the board. Rei began to watch her. She positioned herself on the board. "Ready!" the captain yelled. "Set!" Rin looked at her again to see how she swims now. The whistle was blown and Haru leapt into the water. That caught Rei's attention. Haru splashed into the water and began to swim her freestyle. Rei stood up.

"It's so beautiful to watch!" Nagisa commented.

Makoto noticed Rei and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No...it's just that..." Rei trailed off as he saw Haru magnificently swam her freestyle.

"I told you so!" Nagisa said. "Haru-chan is an amazing swimmer." Rei was amazed at how she doesn't use calculation and theory yet she looks graceful while swimming. He wondered if he could do that. Makoto hoped he doesn't become a rival...

* * *

The next day on the track field, everyone was sitting on the bench, watching Rei's pole jump. Nagisa still hasn't given up on him. Rei was ready to pole jump. He ran, pole jump, and spread all his limbs out, which surprised everyone. However, he hit the bar and fell down. Suddenly, when he stood up, he headed to the members of the swim club. He looked at Haru. "I want to be like you, Nanase-senpai," he said to her.

_He...wants to be me? _she thought. _Wow. _

"What do you mean?" asked Gou.

"I want that kind of freedom."

"It's not freedom," Haru said. "It's freestyle."

"Fr-freestyle..." Rei repeated to himself. He pushed up his glasses. "Anyway, I would like to formally..." He bowed down to the team. "Join the swim club!" That shocked everyone, including Haru. She sighed. "If you want to swim, go ahead," she said.

"That's that, then!" Makoto said.

"Yay, Haru-chan!" Nagisa shouted in happiness.

"However, you were the one that initially invited me to join," Rei continued. "I expect you to take responsibility...Nagisa-kun." Nagisa's eye sparkled and he was super happy.

"Sure! You can count on me!" he said as he jumped to Rei.

"Hey! Watch it!" Everyone was laughing but Haru. She doesn't have the time to be excited.

* * *

At Haru's home, she had to choose which swimsuit to wear. There was a black and purple swimsuit, a black and purple swimsuit, a black and purple swimsuit, a black and purple swimsuit, and a black and purple swimsuit. She cannot decide, since she loved them all.

Outside, Makoto was playing with a baby kitten. Haru came out in her school uniform. He looked at Haru. "Haru-chan, today is the day," he said.

"Huh?" she said.

* * *

**Ending here. What do you think?**

**I forgot I had to recruit Rei. NOW this'll have some competition and chemistry!**

**Read, review, follow, and favorite! Tell me if there's a typo or anything. I'll see you in the next chapter! ;D**


	6. A Confession

**Here's the sixth chapter! Enjoy!**

**NewSlove: Both...**

**Eternal Happiness: Um...can you take an awkward situation and fluff instead...?**

**krito1389: What?! I'm not making anyone gay! Unless you people would like me to put some ReiGisa in this story, since that's the only yaoi pairing I can stand. Oooooh, he will make Haru's decision difficult! Trust me. ;)**

**M0n0chr0meHue: Oopsies. Thanks for reminding me!**

***Warning: May have an awkward situation... and fluff...'cause I'm a fan of them. XD May have some OOC-ness.***

* * *

**A Confession**

At Iwatobi High that day, the 4 swim club members were in their swimsuits. Gou held up a piece of paper. "Okay! We officially have four members now!" she announced. "And it's warming up outside, so we will finally begin training in the pool today-" Like a ninja, Haru swiftly went past Gou and splashed into the pool. She began to swim in it. "Hold on!" Gou yelled. "Could you listen to what I have to say first, Haru-senpai?!" Haru ignored her. "PLEASE, Haru-senpai?!"

Rei grabbed the paper and looked at it. "Is this some kind of formula?" he asked. Makoto explained to him what the paper means. Nagisa got the paper and said, "A few swimmers can do the butterfly, though."

"The butterfly stroke?"

"Yep." Nagisa looked at the paper. "Anyway, this will be a solid training regimen. Did you come up with all this yourself, Gou-chan?"

"Will you stop calling me Gou?!" she asked angrily. She sighed. "Forget it. I found it when I was cleaning my house. It was my brother's old regimen." Haru popped out of the water. She heard Rin's name once again. She wished everyone would stop mentioning him. Because, when she hears his name, her chest begins to pound.

...

Rei was performing many kinds of stretches. Haru was out of the water and saw the training regimen. Gou went to her. "So, are you that interested in my brother's old regimen?" she asked.

"Not really," she answered. "You can write down a regimen and not follow it." She gave the paper back to the magenta-haired manager, put on her swimming cap, and goggles, and jumped into the water. Gou can see through her lie though.

Nagisa shivered in the water. "S-so cold..." he muttered.

Makoto got out of the water. "The water's still pretty cold." They both saw that Rei was still stretching.

"You're still stretching, Rei-chan?" questioned the yellow-haired swimmer.

"I want to be as safe as possible," the blue-haired "swimmer" answered.

"You gonna be okay?" asked Makoto. "I mean, you can take it slow-"

"There's no need to worry." Rei stopped stretching and put on his swimming goggles. "I've mastered the theory behind swimming in the past few days. I won't embarrass myself again!" Rei positioned himself on the diving board. He jumped...and belly-flopped into the water once again. Haru popped out of the water again and shook her head in disappointment. Rei popped up and gasped for air.

"I think you need to start by learning how to swim," Nagisa suggested, sweat-dropping.

...

Makoto and Nagisa was teaching Rei how to do a turtle float. Nagisa demonstrated for him, then it was his turn. With Nagisa's help, he hugged his knees to his chest and began to relax. Makoto told him to spread out his arms and legs and try to swim. He did...only to sink to the bottom again. Makoto and Nagisa sweat-dropped again. Rei popped out of the water and gasped for air again. "No good..." muttered Makoto.

Haru popped out of the water after swimming. Gou went to her and asked, "Haru-senpai, why do you swim?"

The dark-haired swimmer looked up at her and replied, "I don't think I have a reason."

"My brother's dream is to become an Olympic Swimmer. That's why he went all the way to Australia to study."

Haru sighed. "And what does that have to do with me? It's just a dream."

Gou smiled. "Perhaps. But he'll be closer to his dream when he's with you guys...or more specifically...you." Haru blushed, but made it go away.

"Why me? Why me out of all people?" she asked.

"I may be right or wrong...but, I think he's attracted to you," Gou replied quietly. Haru blushed and made it go away again.

"Evidence?"

"Like I said, I may be right or wrong. I mean, I heard Rin calls you gorgeous and he looks at you a lot." Haru can't deny that. But is what Gou's saying true?

* * *

At Samezuka Academy, Rin hit the diving board side of the pool. Nitori was keeping his time. "Finished! Good job," he said. "That last spurt was incredible, Matsuoka-senpai!"

Rin mumbled to himself, "One more run..." He put on his goggles and began to swim again.

"Huh?! O-okay!" Nitori kept Rin's time again.

...

The two were in their dorm. Rin was drying his hair with a towel. "You're amazing, Matsuoka-senpai!"

"You should stop talking about how amazing I am and focus on finding your own style," Rin advised, being annoyed.

"I'm a lost cause. I haven't made any progress. I guess it comes down to practice. I was really impressed by Nanase-san at our joint practice-"

Just hearing her name made Rin uneasy. He said, "Nitori, is that really what you think?" He stared daggers at the kid. Nitori shot back a little. "They just started their swim club and haven't had a real practice yet. You can tell by looking at their bodies. They haven't been working out."

"But Nanase-san-" Nitori said, but got cut off by Rin throwing his towel at him and leaving the dorm. "Looks like she's in shape..."

...

Rin was jogging around the campus, thinking about Haru. _So, given the condition she's in, victory means nothing. It doesn't count as a win. Damn it though. She almost drowned at that race. I should find some way to apologize to her..._

* * *

The next day at Iwatobi High in class 2-1, Nagisa popped into the room with Rei with a magazine in his hand. "Look at this!" he said as he placed it on Haru's desk. it showed swimming uniforms.

"Uniforms?" said Makoto.

Nagisa nodded. "Yep! We have a swim club now, so we should get matching uniforms."

"That's not a bad idea. It would give our club an official feel."

"I know, right? I think we should go with this design and this color!" Nagisa pointed at a uniform. "And we could use even an image in addition to the school emblem."

"Wait, are you thinking about putting Iwatobi-chan in there?" Rei asked.

"That's the plan," Nagisa answered.

Rei face-palmed. "But it's not beautiful!"

"I think Samezuka's design incorporates a shark and a katana," Makoto noted.

"Theirs is so cool!" Nagisa agreed. "We could put a real rockhopper penguin on ours too! What do you think, Haru-chan?"

Haru took out a notebook and began to sketch something. Everyone waited and waited until she showed...a sketch of Iwatobi-chan.

"B-beautiful..." Rei mumbled quietly so no one could hear.

...

At the swim club building, Gou took the magazine away from Nagisa. "Forget about buying matching uniforms for now," Gou said as she threw the magazine on the floor. She got out a piece of paper again.

"Is that a new training regimen?" Makoto asked.

"Yes. I revamped the regimen to account for the fact that Rei-kun can't swim. Rei-kun!"

"Uh, wh-what is it?" he said.

"Given how much time we have until the regional tournament, you have to learn how to swim in one week!"

"Uh, I don't think that's conceptually possible," Rei said, laughing.

Gou stormed to him. "This is no laughing matter!" Rei stopped laughing. "If you fail, you won't be able to complete this training regimen!" Rei couldn't believe this.

...

That day, Nagisa was teaching Rei how do swim the breaststroke. He was doing well...until Nagisa let go of his hands and he sunk into the water. The next day, it was Makoto's turn. He was teaching Rei the breaststroke. Like Nagisa, he was doing well...until Makoto let go of his arms and he sunk into the bottom once again. Another failure.

"Ah, this is hopeless," whined Nagisa. "Haru-chan! Can't you teach Rei-chan how to swim?"

Haru was dipping her feet into the water and replied, "No."

"Aw come on! Haru-chan!"

Gou asked Miho if she had some advice. She was thinking...and thinking...and thinking so much, everyone waited for her answer. She was thinking...

...

Unfortunately, no one got it. It was raining the next day. Everyone was in Haru's home for a meeting. "Okay! Let's start the 'Why Rei-chan can't swim' meeting!" Nagisa announced. "Anyone have any thoughts?"

"Simple, the water doesn't like him," said Haru.

"Poor Rei-chan..."

Makoto sweat-dropped. "I don't think that's the reason."

"Maybe he's athletically challenged!" guessed Gou.

"Rei-chan's pretty fast and he does well on tests."

"So you must be smart."

"Do you like mackerel?" Haru asked randomly.

"DHA..." Gou muttered.

"I know! Maybe his head is too heavy!"

"So all his studying has enlarged his brain!"

_This meeting... _the dark-haired beauty thought.

Rei slammed his hands on the table and yelled, "That's enough!" Everyone was silent. "The problem is the way YOU guys teach! If I had a proper coach, I would do just fine!" An idea popped into Makoto's head.

...

A tall, tan, blonde-haired man named Coach Sasabe gave everyone pizza and listen to what they had to say. "What? You want me to teach a kid that sinks like a rock? Because I used to be a coach?"

"I object," Rei said. "I can float, so I don't sink like a rock. A more accurate analogy would be to call me a submarine."

"Goroh-chang," Nagisa said with pizza full in his mouth. "Weh jusmp wan youm to teachf him howm to swim."

"Don't talk and eat at the same time!" Goro said as he stood up. "Sorry, I'm a busy man. Why won't you guys just teach him?" He left Haru's home. At least they brought them pizza.

* * *

The next day at the pool, Rei thinks there's a reason why he can't swim. "I finally found a reason why I can't swim!" He announced.

Nagisa popped out of the water and said, "What? Really?!"

Makoto also popped out of the water. "You figured it out?" Haru was busy swimming a lot.

"Yes, the answer was right under my nose. The answer is..."

"The answer is...?"

Rei pointed at his swimming briefs. "My swimsuit! This speedo is to blame!"

The two sweat-dropped. "I let you borrow that, right?" Nagisa asked. "That's kinda mean."

"It's not mean!" Rei shouted. "The problem is that this speedo is not streamlined for my body, I think! I haven't crunched the numbers yet!" He began to laugh.

"He's really big on sticking in form..." Nagisa whispered to Makoto.

"Well, I don't see why he can't buy a new swimsuit," Makoto whispered back.

* * *

The following day, everyone rode the train so they can go to a sportswear store. "So, why hasn't Ama-chan come with us to buy his swimsuit?" Makoto asked.

"She did work for a swimsuit maker in Tokyo, right?" Gou said.

"Well, I did ask her, but..." Nagisa trailed off as he remembered what Miho said.

**Flashback:**

_"Oh, I have something else to do on Sunday!"_

_"Plus, there are other brands!"_

_"I have my reasons!"_

_"I won't be able to provide an objective perspective!"_

**End of Flashback**

Rei sweat-dropped. "What's with the flurry of random excuses?"

...

Later, everyone arrived at the sportswear store. Everyone, including Rei, was looking for a swimsuit for him. However, Haru wanted a new swimsuit. She was choosing between a black and purple swimsuit and a black and purple swimsuit. "I'll try these on," she said as she headed to the dressing room.

"Hey, Haru-senpai is also looking for a swimsuit..." Gou noted. Makoto blushed, thinking about what TYPES of swimsuits she's going to wear. No wait, this is sportswear store, not a swimsuit shop.

Rei was in a changing room, changing into a swimsuit he thought was going to be perfect. "Are you done yet, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked.

"It's clear that it fits me better than a speedo," Rei noted. He came out...in a rainbow swimsuit.

"A rainbow for Rei-chan?"

"I'm accounting for the fact that each color has a different psychological impact," Rei explained.

"So, you don't care how it looks?" Makoto asked, sweat-dropping.

"You know that a rainbow has another meaning to it, right?" Haru stated, still in the dressing room. She came out in her black and purple swimsuit. She had a top that made her have cleavage and a bottom that looked like...pretty skimpy swim-shorts. Makoto covered his nosebleed while the others sweat-dropped.

"Uh...are you sure you can swim in that?" Nagisa asked.

"The tag said 'swimwear'," Haru stated. Rei went back into his dressing room while Makoto tried to wipe off his nosebleed.

"Hey, is that 'nosebleeding' I see?" Nagisa questioned, flashing his mischievous face of his.

"Sh-shut up!" Makoto exclaimed.

An idea popped into Nagisa's head. "Hey! How about we change too?" Makoto was going to reject, but Nagisa already lead him into a dressing room. Nagisa wore a pink and red pair of swimming briefs, which looked nice on him. Makoto came out and wore a black bodysuit swimwear, which rocked on him. Rei wore a butterfly-patterned swimsuit...which everyone has no idea where he found it. Haru came out and wore the same colored swimsuit, but it covered 20% of her chest and bottom. Makoto had a box of tissues and yelled, "WHERE DO YOU FIND THESE SWIMSUITS, HARU-CHAN?!" He was covering his nostrils with tissue paper so he wouldn't nosebleed again. However, the tissues were getting red. Nagisa was snickering.

Meanwhile, Gou was fangirling over the guys' swimsuits. They changed and changed and changed. Gou got a little sick of it and went to a drink machine. She inserted a coin and got a can of green tea. She got it and thought she felt like how boys feel when they're shopping for girls. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. "Hey!" She turned and saw the Samezuka coach. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"Captain Mikoshiba?" Gou said.

"Are you doing some shopping, Gou-kun?"

Gou pouted. "Don't use Gou and -kun together."

"We're here to buy new swimsuits." Gou's attention was caught. She thought, _Does that mean...Rin..._

...

Rin got out of his dressing room and called out Nitori's name. He was wearing an orange and black swimsuit. Haru, who was in the dressing room next to him, froze. She didn't have her swimsuit on yet...she hurriedly put on her bottom until...Rin...RIN...opened the curtain to her dressing room. "Ni-" He got cut off as he saw Haru, who's chest is exposed and wore a sports bikini bottom. Rin slowly nosebleed. Both of their faces were ALL red.

"R-Rin..." Haru murmured. "What are you..."

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" Rin exclaimed. "I-I-I-"

"J-JUST GET OUT OF HERE AND CLOSE THE CURTAIN!"

"R-right-right!" Rin closed the curtain. He wiped his nosebleed away. _God, what the hell was I thinking?! _he thought. _But wait...why was she changing in a man's dressing room? Too bad I don't see a sign that says that. _He suddenly heard footsteps, so he hid inside his dressing room again.

Haru put on her top, shaking. Rin saw her exposed chest...at least she put on her bottom just in time. "Haru-chan? Are you okay?" Nagisa asked outside the dressing room. She took a few deep breathes and opened the curtain. "What do you mean?" she asked, acting normal. Makoto covered his nostrils with tissue paper once again.

"We...we heard you screaming..." he said. "We wanted to see if you're alright."

"I'm pretty sure that was some other girl," she replied.

"Well, okay." Nagisa was still suspicious though.

"Don't you guys have to find a swimsuit for Rei?"

"Oh right." Everyone but Haru left. She sighed in relief. She saw Rin come out of his dressing room. He looked around to see if nobody else is around.

"G-Gorgeous..." he stuttered. "W-we need to talk." Haru bit her lip. _What does he want to talk to me about? Maybe apologize to me about that...run-in a minute ago?_

...

Rin and Haru were in their regular clothes and were outside of the store. Rin was leaning against the fence. Haru was waiting for Rin to say something. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"I...I wanted to say that I'm sorry," Rin stated. "About that run-in earlier...and that race."

"That race? You mean, when you challenged me?"

"Yeah. I had no clue you were going to drown. I feel like an asshole."

"You saved me though."

"Still...I'm sorry. Why did you almost drown though?"

Haru was thinking about why she did that. She was exhausted, but there was another reason. "I was exhausted." Rin cursed under his breath. "But also, there was this feeling I had that made me get into water in the first place. I get it whenever I'm around you." Rin blushed and looked at Haru. Her heart pounded. "Like right now. I don't get it."

**Author's note: This is optional, but maybe play "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt? 'Cause here it comes...**

Rin began to think that Haru might be in love with him. But could it be something else? "I have a reason why I call you Gorgeous," he stated. Haru blushed again. "Because I think you're beautiful." Haru's heart fluttered like a butterfly. Her face was all red again. "Ever since we've first met, I always thought you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. When I was in Australia, I've always missed your pretty face. When I was leaving, my goals were to make you fall in love with me and try to impress you. I never thought I could reach the goal of you falling for me, since you're around Makoto a lot. But after what you said about your feeling you get when I'm around, I thought I did it. So, Haru..." He walked toward her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I love you. Do you feel the same way?"

Haru has never felt so moved in her life. Rin...loves her. She didn't know how to react. So that was the feeling...love. She was in love with Rin Matsuoka. After all these years, she realized that. She looked up at him and muttered, "Yes." Rin's eyes sparkled. "I am in love with you, Rin Matsuoka." She smiled. He did as well. He pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back.

"I'm glad," he whispered to her. He un-hugged her and kissed her forehead. She blushed a ton. "I need to go. The captain and Nitori would get suspicious." Haru nodded. Before he left, he kissed Haru on the lips. Her heart pounded like crazy. After a minute, Rin broke the kiss and left. Haru touched her lips. That was her first kiss. She shouldn't tell anyone about this at all! She yelled, "Rin!" Rin turned and looked at her. She ran to him and asked, "Can we keep this a secret?" Rin smiled and nodded. "I won't tell anyone. No worries. I'll see you later...Haru." He left and went into the building. She smiled. It isn't like her to become a girly-girl in the situation, but her questions were answered today. She was very happy about that.

...

No one knew this...but Gou. Gou was behind the building and heard everything! _I was right... _she thought. _Big_ _brother's attracted to her...and she's attracted to him. I...I don't want to be a jerk if I told everyone about this...maybe I shouldn't. That will cause a lot of drama. _

"Ah! There she is!" Nagisa said. Gou shot back and saw the crew with shopping bags.

"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked.

"Uh, nope! Nothing at all!" Gou lied. _Don't worry Haru and big brother. Your secret is safe with me._

* * *

**I'm gonna have to end it here. Here's me when I proofread this chapter: "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~!" How was this chapter?**

**Haha! RinHaru is canon in this fanfic! I'm also going to make Makoto make a move. This IS a Fem!Haruka x Rin x Makoto fanfic after all.**

**I thought the song "You're Beautiful" would be perfect of how Rin thought about Haru before his confession. **

**Read, review, follow, and favorite if you haven't done so~! I have a bipolar writer's block now, so expect late or quick updates. I'll see you guys in the next chapter! :D**


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